Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
Hernán Cuervo, Johanna Wyn & Jessica Crofts
November 2012
Research Report 36
Gen X Women and the Gender
Revolution: Pioneers or
Traditionalists?
Authors:Hernán Cuervo, Johanna Wyn &
Jessica Crofts
ISBN: 978 0 7340 4810 3
Youth Research Centre
Melbourne Graduate School of Education
The University of Melbourne VIC 3010
All rights reserved. No part of this report may
be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage
and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Youth Research Centre.
Contents
Introduction...........................................................................4
Background........................................................................5
Methodology ........................................................................ 6
Findings................................................................................. 8
High expectations.............................................................. 8
Unequal employment patterns..........................................10
Women managing parenthood..........................................11
Women’s views.................................................................. 14
Challenges..........................................................................18
Conclusion............................................................................. 20
Acknowledgements................................................................ 21
References............................................................................. 22
INTRODUCTION
In the last four decades, there has been a dramatic increase in women’s participation in education and
in the workforce. These changes, which were also experienced in the many other developed countries,
have been so far-reaching that they have been regarded as revolutionary (Esping-Andersen 2009,
Gerson 2010) and as creating a distinctive new generation (Andres & Wyn 2010). In the period from
1979 to 2009, the proportion of women in the workforce increased from 40% 55%. At the same time,
men’s participation in the workforce decreased from 74% to 68% (ABS 2010a). The changes in gender
composition are even more dramatic in education: in 1976 only 9% of women and 16% of men in their
twenties were involved in post-secondary education. A quarter of a century later, women overtook men,
with 24% of women compared to 23% of men in their twenties attending an educational institution
(ABS 2005). By 2009, more young women aged 20-24 years had a further and higher education
qualification than their male counterparts (48% and 41% respectively) (ABS 2010a).
Despite these increases in women’ s participation in work and education, the last few years have seen the
emergence of debate about an ‘unfinished’, ‘incomplete’ or ‘stalled’ gender revolution (see for example:
Charles 2011, Cuervo & Wyn 2011, England 2010, Esping-Andersen 2009, Jackson 2010, van Egmond et
al. 2010). The notion of an ‘incomplete’ or ‘unfinished’ revolution has also gained currency in Australian
public opinion, framed largely as an economic issue. Commentators regularly point out the enduring
nature of the gender wage gap (Irvine 2009, Iyer 2012, Parliament of Australia 2009, Vickers 2011), and
others have highlighted the economic boost that employed women can provide to the national economy
(Toohey et al. 2009, Hill & Pocock 2008).
The gender wage gap is revealed in figures that show that in 2009 on average women earned 17% less
than men, the largest gap in 28 years, with some industries like insurance and finance recording a gap
of 32% and the resource sector in Western Australia a 36% difference (Parliament of Australia 2009). A
study by the Parliament of Australia (2009) attributed the difference between men’s and women’s pay to
women’s ‘disproportionate participation in part-time and casual employment’, which leads to less work
advancement and skill development for women than for men, a concentration by women in low paying
jobs, social expectations about the ‘role of women as workers, parents and carers’ that positions them
in unpaid work; and ‘working in service rather than product related markets’ (Parliament of Australia
2009: 8-9). Other research shows that the costs and nature of nine-to-five childcare constrains women’s
capacity to compete for the same jobs as men (Hill & Pocock 2008).
Economists argue that closing the gender gap in workforce participation is imperative for sustaining
and strengthening Australia’s economy (Toohey et al. 2009; ABS 2010a; ABS 2010b; Hill & Pocock
2008). This argument, correlating increases in women’s workforce participation with national economic
competitiveness has global resonance (see World Economic Forum 2009). A policy report by the
Grattan Institute calls for the inclusion of more women and older people, in the workforce and argues
that this is the best way to increase economic growth (Grattan Institute 2012). A recent Australian
4
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
study estimates that increasing women’s workplace participation to the same level as men’s would boost
Australia’s economic growth by at least 13 per cent and help solve the looming fiscal burden of an aging
population (Toohey et al. 2009).
This research report contributes to these debates through an analysis of women and employment,
drawing on the findings of the Life Patterns longitudinal research program. It discusses the experiences
of the women in the first cohort of the study, who were aged around 38 in 2011, focusing in particular
on the ways in which they balanced the areas of career and family life across time. Our analysis enables
us to contribute beyond economic arguments to debate on women’s work and parenthood, including
issues related to gender roles, wellbeing, identity and institutional arrangements that are barriers to
achieving equality.
Background
The research participants in the Life Patterns research program represent what is commonly described
in the media as Gen X. They entered the labour market in the years from 1991 to be faced with an
unfamiliar set of conditions. These included the deregulation of employment relations, the emergence
of a service sector and the casualisation of work. They were the vanguard generation for a new era in
which participation in post-secondary and higher education became the norm. These education and
labour changes were accompanied by social and cultural transformations in Australia and other Western
societies (ABS 2010a, Charles 2011, van Egmond et al. 2010). For example, since the 1960s increased
support for men and women’s equal participation in work emerged, coupled with new equal opportunity
and anti-discrimination legislation (see 1986 Affirmative Action Act). There were also attitudinal
changes towards recognising women as paid workers as well as mothers, and the spread of liberal values
of individualism and progress.
These changes in attitudes facilitated women’s participation in education and employment. For instance,
from the outset, men and women in the Life Patterns research program engaged in post-secondary
education, with eight out of ten participants studying at the age of 18-19. Young women from middle
and high socioeconomic status, in particular, embraced tertiary education with the goal of building
and securing a professional career. This was a remarkable achievement given that almost 60% of the
participants came from families where no parents had any post-secondary education (Cuervo & Wyn
2011).
However, consistent with other research (e.g. Charles 2011, Esping-Anderson 2009), the patterns of
gender equality in their ‘education years’ (between 19 – 25 years old) did not herald gender equality in
workplaces. Analysis of the Life Patterns participants’ experiences shows that by their mid to late thirties
gender divisions were stark. Women overwhelmingly held responsibility for bringing up children while
men who were parents continued their working careers with very little interruption. The analysis of
their narratives reveals that gendered patterns extend well beyond the economic domains of the division
of labour in families.
In this report we reflect on the apparent paradox that traditional gender roles have been sustained
despite the dramatic shift towards gender equality in educational participation. Even though women
now participate more than ever before in the labour market, nonetheless their engagement with work
is highly gendered. Traditional ideas about men’s and women’s family roles, including the belief that
women are best suited to assume domestic and childbearing responsibilities, and men are best suited
to careers, persist. Our discussion raises questions about this development, highlighting structural
arrangements that are barriers to greater gender parity in the different domains of life.
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
5
Methodology
This research report draws on the Life Patterns longitudinal research program. This program has
followed the lives of a generation of young Australians that left secondary school in 1991 in Victoria.
The original database consisted of 29,155 participants. In 1996, the sample was reduced to a more
manageable size of 2,000 participants, keeping gender, socioeconomic and location consistency. From
1996 to the year 2000 annual surveys and individual in-depth interviews with a sub-sample of between
50 to 100 people were conducted. From the year 2000 surveys were conducted bi-annually. This report
includes survey data from 2011 and interview data from 2011-2012. (The Life Patterns program is
also following a second cohort of young people that left secondary school in 2006 but data from this
group does not feature in this research report.) The research has consistently explored the areas of
education, work, social and personal relationships and wellbeing and health. It has looked at the goals
and aspirations of participants as they make their way through different social institutions (such as
education, work, and family).
Two hundred and eighty-four participants completed the survey in 2011. Of these, 70% of men and 69%
of women were parenting. A subset of 36 participants was interviewed between 2011 and 2012, of which
90% where in a parenthood situation. All the data presented in this research report has a longitudinal
character; that is, is based only on the responses of the 284 participants still taking part of this project.
Attrition is one of the greatest challenges for any longitudinal study and this program is not an
exception. We have been able to retain consistency in terms of location and socioeconomic background
of our participants but more women (67%) than men (33%) have remained with us in this journey.
The Life Patterns program is a longitudinal study using a mixed-method approach, which involves two
research techniques: surveys and interviews that generate quantitative and qualitative data. The data
emanating from surveys and interviews enables us to fill in the gaps from each technique. Surveys
contain closed questions of various types, usually requiring a yes or no option; a Likert scale, which
asks respondents to tick one answer on a five-point scale or a response to a series of options. They also
include open-ended questions with spaces for respondents to write their own answers. For instance,
in the 2011 survey those participants in a parenting situation were asked about their satisfaction
with different issues arising from their parenthood status (e.g. quality of childcare, cost of children’s
education, etc.). This question constructed with a Likert scale, was followed by an open-ended question
that enabled participants to write at length about any issue concerning this topic. In addition, we
included another open-ended question about ‘the role of family’ for all participants (parenting and not
parenting), which enriched our understanding of what place family occupies in people’s lives.
6
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
The data originating from the surveys served as a guideline in the construction of questions for our
in-depth interviews of 2011 and 2012. Interviews are conducted using a semi-structured approach. This
means that all interviewees are asked about the same topics, giving scope for participants to elaborate
where relevant. The interaction between both techniques and the longitudinal character of the study
has enabled us to better understand participants’ decisions, choices and actions over these two decades.
In particular it has provided a rich source of information to comprehend how some decisions in one
area of life (e.g. work) affect another area (e.g. family) and how participants have been able, or not, to
negotiate and balance these different spheres. The longitudinal approach allows for a greater visibility
of continuity and change in participants’ lives. For example, asking in the surveys over time about
participant’s civil status and their working situation illuminates the impact of the birth of their first
child to their working conditions (see figure 5). Thus, rather than a unique snapshot in time, the Life
Patterns research program has the advantage of rendering visible the dynamism and messiness of life –
particularly in these last two decades of rapid social change in Australia.
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
7
FINDINGS
High expectations
This generation had high expectations for their careers. At least eight out of ten invested in some form
of post-secondary education. At least two thirds believed that there is a strong correlation between
acquiring tertiary education qualifications with obtaining their preferred work outcome. Table 1 shows
the level of education achieved by our participants, by gender, by 2011.
Table 1: Level of education achieved by 2011, by gender, N=273 (%)
No post-school
education
University degree
TAFE/apprenticeship
Male
14
Female
15
Total
14
64
22
72
13
69
17
Table 1 describes young people’s strong investment in further and higher education. Despite the overrepresentation of people in tertiary education compared to national figures (currently 44% of those aged
25-34 years) (NATSEM 2012), participants’ educational decisions reflect the trend by young women
in particular to invest in tertiary education. At the same time, many other countries saw dramatic
increases in women’s participation in higher and further education, creating a ‘gender education
revolution’ (Esping-Andersen 2009).
Participation in further and higher education was seen as a strategy for constructing a career. At the
age of 23, a majority of women (62%) placed a strong importance on having a career, with only a small
minority (4%) expressing that they would be ‘happy’ or ‘very happy’ with their lives if they ended with
‘no work outside home duties’
Elsewhere we have drawn attention to the strong investment in tertiary education by young Australians
as a reaction to profound changes in the economy and labour market (see Andres & Wyn 2010, Cuervo
& Wyn 2010, 2012, Wyn 2009). The deregulation of the economy and labour market, the emergence of
the service sector and the proliferation of casual and precarious jobs had a significant impact in how
8
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
young people viewed employment. At the age of 23, in 1996, 77% of the participants considered gaining
financial independence and 60% considered having a secure job as a ‘very important’ characteristics of
adult life. These ranked higher than, for example, ‘becoming a parent’ (26%) and ‘moving out from the
family home’ (41%). Despite placing a high priority on financial independence and job security, by their
mid-twenties, at least 40% of our participants answered their job was not a secure one.
Achieving a secure job has consistently been one of the highest priorities for the entire cohort. For
women who hoped to become parents, job security was especially important. Table 2 shows that over
time working flexible hours and child care grew in importance for women who were parents. Security
remained a strong priority, as other goals, such as full-time work and having a high status job decreased.
If we look at women who were parenting in 2004 (28% of 2011 cohort), having a secure job and flexible
hours were the most important issues to them. The most significant change with those parenting
between 2004 and 2011 is the greater importance of child care provision. Of those who were parents in
2004, 13% stressed the importance of child care, compared with 22% of parents in 2011.
Figure 2: Females parenting in 2011, “Very important” when deciding for a future job, 1996-2000-2004, (%)
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
9
Unequal employment patterns
Given the high value placed on job security, and the achievement of gender parity in levels of
educational participation, we predicted the emergence of gender equality in workplaces. However,
education and work give rise to very different gender patterns of engagement. Australian women
are amongst the most highly educated in the world, yet their participation in paid work remains
comparatively low (Broderick et al. 2010: 8). From the outset, men and women’s participation in the
labour market diverged. Figure 3 shows the employment patterns of men and women from 1992 to
2011.
Figure 3: Employment participation 1992 to 2011, by gender, N=274 (%)
Despite women’s high investment in career through gaining educational qualifications, figure 3 shows
that men have achieved higher levels of participation in the workforce. The extent of participation (full
or part-time) in the labour market reveals even starker gender differences (see Figure 4).
10
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
Figure 4: Full-time work 1992 to 2011, by gender, N=274 (%)
Figure 4 describes the disparities in full-time work participation by gender. The year 2000 is a breaking
point for gender parity. This is the time at which the majority of our participants begin to have children.
By their early thirties, in 2006, the gap grew wider, with more women abandoning full-time work to
concentrate on caring for their children and taking part-time jobs.
Women managing parenthood
Parenthood emerges as the most significant factor in the divergence between women’s and men’s
patterns of life. Since 2000, 90% of men and women have become parents. At that time, in 2000, the
gender differences in workforce participation was of approximately 10% or less in favour of men. In
accordance with national trends, before childbirth, workforce participation between men and women is
similar (Grattan Institute 2012: 40).
Our longitudinal research included the documentation of type of work, hours worked per week, job
status and other data, recorded over two decades. The research also recorded changes in working
patterns after the birth of the first child. This is a significant moment when many adjustments have
to be made, including deciding who will be the primary carer (in the case of shared parenting) and
determining what kind of government welfare support is available for people unable to afford private
care or who are without family support. In looking at the work patterns at this point of participants’ lives
we found that women exclusively accommodated to the birth of the first child by leaving work or going
part-time. Figure 5 describes the work patterns for men and women before and after the birth of their
first child for all Life Patterns participants who became parents between 1992 and 2011.
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
11
Figure 5: Full-time and part-time work before and after birth of first child 1992 to 2011, N=175, (%)
Prior to becoming parents, 74% of women were working full-time. Of those women who became
parents, the majority (58%) were out of the workforce for up to one year after their first child was born.
Another 12% took up to two years out of the workforce. That is, 70% of women who became parents
were back working within two years of giving birth to their first child, signalling a desire or need to
return to paid employment. However, after giving birth to their first child only 9% returned on a fulltime basis, while 54% returned on a part-time basis. Parenthood has had a lasting effect on women’s
capacity to work full-time with 60% of women who became parents not re-entering the workforce after
the birth of their child, and only 22% taking up a full-time job.
When looking at the impact of post-school education on careers, we see that all the women that were
most likely to continue full-time work after the birth of their first child had at least a university degree.
Nonetheless, despite their higher education credentials 60% went from a full-time to a part-time
position.
Figure 6: Work conditions for women before and after birth of first child by level of education 1992 to 2011,
N=118 (%)
12
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
9% of female parents who continued working full-time after giving birth to their first child had at least
university degree. Another 15% with a higher education credential returned to full-time work after a few
years of giving birth. At least 6 years after becoming a parent, 20% of women with no post-secondary
education were in full-time work, while no female with a TAFE or apprenticeship qualification has gone
back to a full-time job by 2011.
Other researchers have commented that the small proportions of women women with post-secondary
school qualifications who return to full-time work signifies a poor economic return on their educational
investment. For example, research by the Grattan Institute (2012) shows that women find it harder
to come back to full-time work after working several years on a part-time basis or not working at all.
Women’s reduced participation in full-time work has a significant impact on their income. The Grattan
Institute estimates that having one child is estimated to cost 31% of lifetime earnings (Grattan Institute
2012).
Figure 7: Full-time work for parents and non-parents 2000 to 2011, N= 282 (%)
Figure 7 describes the patterns of employment participation for women who are parents. Successive
surveys recorded people’s parental and work status. Figure 7 describes the patterns of full-time
employment for men and women, parents and non-parents over a decade, revealing the differences in
workforce participation between men and women who are parents. Although many of the men who
were parents have been actively involved in raising their children during the 12 years between 2000 and
2011, none described being a parent as their ‘main’ work commitment. This compares with 20% and
30% of women who stated that ‘domestic responsibilities’ were their ‘main’ work commitment in 2004
and 2006 respectively.
The gendered division of labour amongst Life Patterns cohort 1 participants is reported by both men
and women. Ninety-three percent of men who were parents asserted that their partners were not
working full-time and were the primary carers for children (even if they were working part-time).
Women who were parents reported that 95% of their partners were working full-time; including in a
few cases where the women were earning a higher salary than their partners.
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
13
Women’s views
These strongly gendered patterns of domestic labour are an outcome of choices that men and women
are making about how to manage in the best interests of their own life and their family’s future. Over
the years, our interviews with a sub set of the whole cohort highlights a more complex view of women’s
choices. It shows, for instance, that for a small group of women, being a full-time ‘stay at home mum’
was a satisfying and fulfilling arrangement, enabling them to devote their time to raising their child/
ren. A few of these commented that they would need to return to work due to financial pressures.
Indeed, financial issues, including the cost of living and the strain of house mortgage repayments were
the primary concerns for all women (including cost of child care, education and health for those in a
parenting situation), followed by financial and work stress. This accords with national data from the
2011 census that shows that mothers are returning to work earlier than in previous decades due to
financial pressures (e.g. they cannot rely on one income in the family and feel the mortgage pressure)
(Karvelas 2012). Women who were full-time parents and dependent on their partner for income
emphasised the importance of keeping a close watch on expenses and making do with less in order to
survive on one income. Other women valued the flexibility of working part-time or on a casual basis
while raising their children, a preferred arrangement to working full-time.
However, the qualitative data also showed that some of women who were parents found their roles
frustrating and destabilising to their sense of identity. These points are illustrated in the following
case studies which we have chosen because they represent the themes recurring in the interviews.
Encapsulated in these three stories are many of the complexities that arise in the dynamics of women
parenting: issues of wellbeing and health, gender inequality related to housework, the role of work,
identity issues, gender essentialism and so forth. Each of the case studies provides insights into the
constraints on their ‘choices’ and the pressures that result in women opting out of work. Their choices
and actions in their post-secondary school transition reveal the gap that has opened up between the
relative gender equality of education and the gender-divided world of work. The decisions they faced on
becoming parents highlight the challenges many women of their generation have come to confront.
Lyn
Lyn is from a regional town where she attended the local government school. Her father worked as a
farmer and her mother performed home duties. After graduating from secondary school Lyn attended
university, completing a Bachelor of Science and a postgraduate diploma in nursing. She began working
as a nurse which she said provided her with personal fulfilment.
In the year leading up to 2000 Lyn married and had her first child, and by 2004 had a second child.
Balancing the care of two small children with her work as a registered nurse in a regional hospital
proved to be very difficult and she was forced to resign from her job which she had held for 9 years.
After the birth of her second child she found that her workplace was too inflexible and childcare too
expensive:
“I have recently been forced to resign as cost of day care for 2 kids counteracts what I would earn. My
place of employment and field of training is unwilling to assist in set shifts, permanent nights, etc.’”
14
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
After 5 years out of the workforce and 3 children, Lyn began working again as a nurse on a casual basis,
usually working 5-10 hours a week. While she began to feel that she unfulfilled in her current situation:
“My family is my life. But after being mum to all my kids (and husband), I am finding that I’m losing
myself. I love my family but I need to find me too.”
In 2011, Lyn was still working as a registered nurse on a casual basis and had increased her commitment
to between 10 and 20 hours a week. She said that she felt ‘unhealthy’ both physically and mentally
and added that she often felt worn out, tired or exhausted from meeting the needs of children. She
commented that she often felt trapped by her responsibility as a parent. Her husband works over 40
hours each week as a chartered accountant but Lyn felt that she was unsupported by him in childrearing.
“My family is my life. I am the cook, taxi, cleaner, etc. Even though every day is hard work, I couldn’t
live without them. I wish my husband could understand what he is missing out on and that I need
support too. That’s what’s hard. Every mother is supposed to have super powers!”
Maria
After completing Year 12 at a government school Maria studied full-time at university and completed a
degree in science. She continued at university and was awarded a PhD in 2002.
During and after the period of Maria’s PhD, she worked in numerous jobs within her field including
research assistant, sessional tutor, lecturer and in 2011 was working as a research fellow in a regional
university, with teaching and research responsibilities, a position she has held since 2004. She has
always held insecure positions (sessional or limited term contracts) and prior to 2004 she changed jobs
frequently.
In 2008 Maria and her husband had a child, and she began to feel that she was unable to achieve the
right balance between her work, family life and social commitments. In 2009, when Maria was working
20-30 hours each week, we asked about this balance and her health:
“Doing too much at home - I feel I have slipped into a 1950s housewife role (caring for child, cooking,
cleaning) except that I am also working!”
Struggling to fulfil all the different roles have impacted on Maria’s health:
“I have chronic back and neck pain - which also leads to fatigue. I feel overloaded at home and don’t
feel I have enough social support - at home or through extended family and friends. Therefore [my]
mental health is starting to really suffer.”
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
15
In 2011 Maria continued to work part time at the University while her husband worked full time as
a teacher. Their three year old child attended pre-school at an independent school. Maria still felt the
strain of combining work and parenting, especially as she felt she did much more of the parenting than
her partner. She often felt tired, worn out, or exhausted from meeting the needs of her child:
“I am a well educated and informed parent - but still can’t get the swing of this parenting thing. At
times when I have hinted I needed help from professionals, I feel I get brushed off - I think because
I am well spoken and educated that they think I’ve got it all together! Since becoming a parent and
going back to work - there has been no time for friends and me time, so my family (husband and
child) and my parents are my greatest support. This at times is great but I am starting to feel the
social isolation and community disconnectedness - especially when family life is not that great and
who would have imagined that your mother (and father) become your coffee buddies!”
Interestingly, Maria’s job brings a greater income to the household than her partner’s but this has not
influenced the way in which domestic responsibilities are realised.
“Working part time in my job brings in more money than my husband’s full time job as a teacher - so
some pressure on me as the main income earner. We will pay our mortgage off at the end of next year
- which will be an enormous relief for us. Finances put pressure on our relationship.”
The household finances were not the only thing that suffered from the daily pressures. Maria felt that
health has been deteriorating in the last months as a consequence of the challenges of parenting.
“My physical health over the last 10-15 years has been poor - chronic neck & back pain. However, I
have been able to manage it (sometimes better than others). However in the last 12-24 months my
mental health has severely been impacted on. I feel lonely, isolated, and the burden of everyone’s
expectations on me as a mother, wife, daughter, worker. This is starting to take its toll. Mixed with
this is chronic pain and every year now a season of colds & flues. I tell myself this is a phase in life.
The 3 1/2 year old will grow up and things will get back to.... normal? Pre-child days aimlessly filling
in time...”
16
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
Annie
Since leaving high school, Annie has devoted a great deal of time and energy into her studies and career.
She studied medicine full-time at university completing her medical degree in 1998, beginning a 6 year
course to specialise in obstetrics and gynaecology soon after. Annie tells us that she gets a lot of personal
fulfilment from her career in medicine but also from her continued engagement with education in the
field. She married a doctor in 2004, and at this time commented that she was looking forward to having
her first child so that she could work less hours than she currently was (around 50 hours per week as an
obstetrics and gynaecology registrar in a regional hospital):
“Can’t wait until I have a child (pregnancy delayed by training) and can justify to employer to work
part-time and have a life!”
Annie gave birth to her first child in 2005 followed by her second in 2008. She realised that her
specialised medical training would take around ten years rather than six and that continuing with this
training would be a barrier to having more children.
“Becoming a medical specialist will take me 10 years, including 2 children and maternity leave - I
take a year off from the official training (6 years in total) per child but still do bits a pieces to stay
interested and in the loop (e.g. a morning a week in the first 6 months then 2 mornings a week from
6-12 months). My college insists on finishing training in 11 years which makes it difficult to have
more than 2 children and raise them/breast feed them then go back part time (21 hours per week) for
a year.... and they should know better!”
It is during this time that Annie begins to voice her disappointment that her medical career will not be
what she wants it to be due to struggles to balance her work and family with her own identity:
“There is not enough time for everything - something has to give and now I have kids I can’t be a
famous world expert on some medical thing without shafting them.”
After giving birth Annie also experienced some health concerns.
“[I] had post partum depression/baby blues for 3-4 months so luckily my husband could work part
time and take on more child and wife caring! Coming to terms with being a stay at home mother
[which is] poorly regarded by society... my entire sense of self worth is tied up in my job (despite me
feeling ashamed of this!)”
In 2011, Annie and her partner decided that Annie would return to work full-time while her husband
would continue working part-time and be the main care giver for their 6 year old and 2 year old
children. She reported that her physical and mental health has improved in the move back to full-time
work.
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
17
Challenges
Our finding of what appears to be the re-traditionalisation of gender roles amongst Australians is
confirmed by research in other countries. For example, researchers in the United States find a resilience
of traditional forms of division of domestic labour. Charles (2011: 361) argues that despite gender
equalisation in educational attainment and other areas, domestic work and child care in the United
States continue to be almost exclusively the domain of women. Charles suggests that gender stereotypes
have the power to influence the nature of gender divisions in work, education, household arrangements
and even government welfare provisions. England (2010: 162) affirms that, in the United States, while
women have entered managerial positions that were traditionally held by men, the devaluation of
women’s work has prevented men from ‘making the gender revolution a two-way street’.
The case studies depicted above illustrate some common issues confronted by women in a parenting
situation. In the first place, women face structural barriers to continuing work – especially full-time
work. The lack of affordable child care represents a major obstacle for women who wish to work and the
negative trade off between their income and the cost of child care makes it unviable to sustain a fulltime job. As one participant affirmed in 2004:
“I work permanent full time night shift in [so] we can afford a nanny to stay at home with our three
children as the cost of day care would take all of my income without penalties. It is difficult to balance
a happy home with furthering career.”
As a recent policy report suggested, changes in the taxation system and childcare costs would provide
incentives to more women to return to work by increasing the income they take home (Grattan Institute
2012). More than a fifth of the female participants in the Life Patterns research program who were
parenting were dissatisfied with the availability of quality and affordable childcare, while, interestingly,
almost 40% of males were dissatisfied. At least two thirds of parents were highly concerned with their
children’s ‘cost of education’ in the future.
Another concern expressed by participants was a lack of support in their workplace. As Pocock (2003:
1) explains, despite gains by women in many social fronts, workplaces still view the ‘ideal worker’
someone who is ‘care-less’. As a consequence, women who choose to suspend work to care for their
children lag behind both men and women who have continuous full-time work, and often never catch,
even when they do resume their careers (Grattan Institute 2012, Hill & Pocock 2008, Maher et al.
2008). This stagnation in their professional careers has significant impact in their income power, their
superannuation fund and in their possibilities to reach to the top of their professions.
Finally, if is important to recognise the impact of the gendered division of labour in the home and
in workplaces on identities. Women expressed a strong sense of responsibility for spending enough
time caring for their family, and in some cases feelings of guilt for being away of home that resonates
with other studies around the balancing of work and home life (see Pocock 2003). This sentiment is
expressed by one of our participants who said: “I am not satisfied to just be a mum, I want a career but it
is difficult to juggle both, sometimes I feel my kids miss out and I feel guilty”. Maria and Annie, depicted
above, also voiced their concerns around their multiple roles and the difficulty of balancing life. The
case studies also reflected the common concern that there was not enough time to carry complete all
their responsibilities. Many also identified the lack of structural (workplace) and personal (partners)
support to reach the right balance.
18
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
Despite their sense of duty towards their family, the surveys and interviews conducted in 2011 reveal
a common experience of feeling tired and a perception that the responsibility for managing the
balance between work, childcare and domestic labour was mostly held by them. Figure 8 presents their
responses.
Figure 8: Opinion about following statements, by gender, 2011, N=188, by ‘strongly agree’ & ‘agree’, %
The feeling by our female participants that they do ‘much more of the parenting share than their
partner’ concurs with other studies that assert that even if both men and women work similar hours, it
is the woman that add ‘unpaid domestic work’ to their working load (see Grattan Institute 2012, Pocock
2003). When we analysed women’s responses to these issue by type of work, we found that women in
a full-time work position reflect a much lower dissatisfaction with the sharing of parenthood and feel
slightly less tired from parenthood chores than women on part-time work or not working at all. It was
the ‘stay at home mums’ and, particularly, those in part-time work who felt less able to balance life (at
least 35% for both groups), tired from parenting (at least 70%) and doing more of the parenting than
their partners (at least 60%).
The construction of identity through work is also important for many women. The three participants
highlighted in the case studies above, and many of their counterparts in this study, commented on the
need to go back to work not only for financial reasons but as a way of returning to ‘normality’, as one
participant put it, and as a matter of gaining back their identity. Doherty (2009) contesting the ‘end of
work thesis’ argues that workplaces are still an important site where social relations and identities are
created and sustained. Some of our participants reflect this view. They are prepared to come back to
work even if the vast amount of the income they earn will go to pay for the child care. In other words,
participation in work goes beyond the provision of an income - it sustains a sense of self.
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
19
CONCLUSION
The last quarter of a century has seen an unprecedented increase in youth post-secondary school
participation. Women have answered the call to become highly educated, in order to secure a job in an
uncertain labour market. This investment, however, has not provided the same economic returns for
the majority of the women as for their male counterparts. This issue, which in other countries has been
called an ‘unfinished’ or ’incomplete’ gender revolution is tied to the fate of the Australian economy.
There is more to the ‘unfinished’ revolution however than national economic gain. What is also at stake
is the maintenance of traditional gender differentiation that has a profound impact on women’s (and
men’s) lives. Public policies need to acknowledge the importance of the interrelationships between
education, work, family and wellbeing.
It is important to re-state that some of our female participants have affirmed that they are happy staying
home caring for their children, even though they have largely invested on higher education. Others are
satisfied with the possibility of having flexibility at work and share their careers with caring for their
children and homes. In some ways, these reflect a notion of ‘gender essentialism’ with the idea that
women are the best placed to care for the household. Our analysis shows that women accept the prime
responsibility for child-rearing. Yet the analysis of their responses reveals a feeling that something is not
quite right. Those who feel constrained or ‘pigeon-holed’ in motherhood wish to return to work, not just
for financial reasons, but also in order to affirm an identity outside of a traditional mothering role.
The struggle between motherhood and work goes beyond economic arguments to include issues of
identity, wellbeing, and the right to work. The views and experiences of the women who contributed
to this report are a testimony to the anachronism of workplaces and policies that position women as
carers and limit their possibilities for the successful career they have worked hard for. The parental leave
scheme introduce by the Federal government in 2011 is only the tip of the iceberg of a series of reform
needed to provide men and women with real equal opportunities at work and home.
20
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
Acknowledgments
This phase of the Life Patterns research program titled Young people negotiating risk and opportunity:
A reassessment of transition pathways is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) from 2010 2014. It supports the continuation of two longitudinal cohorts of the Life-Patterns research program. We
are grateful for the support of other members of the Life Patterns team for the completion of this report:
Chris Peterson, Graeme Smith and Dan Woodman. We also acknowledge the administrative support
of Rhonda Christopher. The Life-Patterns research program has also benefited from the links with
Professor Lesley Andres’s study, Paths on Life’s Way, based in British Columbia, Canada.
This phase of the Life-Patterns program has continued the tradition of a strong participatory approach
to research, through regular written and verbal feedback by participants, which shaped the progress and
outcomes of the research program. We deeply appreciate the generosity, willing engagement and honesty
of our participants.
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
21
references
Andres, L. & Wyn, J. (2010) The making of a generation: The children of the ‘70s in adulthood. Toronto:
Toronto University Press.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2010a) Education and Training Measures of Australia’s Progress 2010:
Men vs Women, Cat. No. 4221.0., ABS, Canberra.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2010b) Australia’s workers: Education and workplace training, Cat. No.
4102.0., ABS, Canberra.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2005) Australian social trends 2005. Cat. No. 4102.0., ABS, Canberra.
Broderick, E., Goldie, C. & Rosenman, E. (2010) Gender Equality Blueprint. Australian Human Rights
Commission, Sydney.
Cassells, R., Duncan, A., Abello, A., D’Souza, G. & Nepal, B. (2012) Smart Australians: Education and
Innovation in Australia. AMP.NATSEM Income and Wealth Report, Issue 32, October, Melbourne.
Charles, M. (2011) ‘A world of difference: International trends in women’s economic status’, Annual
Review of Sociology, 37: 355-371.
Cuervo, H. & Wyn, J. (2012) Young people making it work: Continuity and change in rural places.
Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
Cuervo, H. & Wyn, J. (2011) Rethinking youth transitions in Australia: A historical and multidimensional
approach, Research Report no. 33, Youth Research Centre, Melbourne.
Cuervo, H. & Wyn, J. (2010) ‘Australian youth transitions’, in S. Ahn (ed.) Transition from youth to
adulthood. Seoul: National Youth Policy Institute.
Doherty, M. (2009) ‘When the working day is through: The end of work as identity’, Work, Employment
and society, 23(1): 84-101.
England, P. (2010) ‘The gender revolution’, Gender & Society, 24(2): 149-166.
22
Gen X Women and the Gender Revolution:
Pioneers or Traditionalists?
Esping-Andersen, G. (2009) The incomplete revolution: Adapting to women’s new roles. Cambridge:
Polity.
Gerson, K. (2010) The unfinished revolution: How a new generation is reshaping family, work, and gender
in America. New York: Oxford University Press.
Grattan Institute (2012) Game-changers: Economic reform priorities for Australia. Grattan Institute,
Melbourne.
Hill, E. & Pocock, B. (2008) Submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Paid Maternity,
Paternity and Parental Leave, The Work + Family Policy Roundtable, Retrieved 4-7-12, at: www.
familypolicyroundtable.com.au
Irvine, J. (2011) An equal footing still step too far, The Age, August 27.
Iyer, P. (2012) Women on the verge of power, The Australian, September 15.
Karvelas, P. (2012) New mothers need support to return to work earlier, The Australian, October 31.
Maher, J. M., Lindsay, J. & Franzway, S. (2008) ‘Time, caring labour and social policy: understanding the
family time economy in contemporary families’, Work, employment and society, 22(3): 547–558.
Parliament of Australia (2009) Making it Fair: Pay equity and associated issues related to increasing
female participation in the workforce, Standing Committee on Employment and Workplace Relations,
Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
Pocock, B. (2003) The Work/Life Collision: what work is doing to Australians and what to do about it.
Sydney: The Federation Press.
Toohey, T., Colosimo, D. & Boak, A. (2009) Australia’s Hidden Resource: The Economic Case For
Increasing Female Participation, Goldman Sachs JBWere Investment Research, Sydney.
van Egmond, M., Baxter, J., Buchler, S. & Western, M. (2010) ‘A stalled revolution? Gender role attitudes
in Australia, 1986-2005’, Journal of population research, 27: 147-168.
Vickers, H. (2011) Growing pay gap between the sexes, The Age, November 18.
World Economic Forum (2009) The Global Gender Gap Report 2009, World Economic Forum, Geneva.
Wyn, J. (2009) Touching the future: Building skills for life and work. Camberwell, Victoria: Australian
Council of Education Research.